[New Build] Small Factor Form Gaming PC

[amjwh99]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the week
Budget Range: Under $1,000 Before Rebates
System Usage: Gaming
Parts Not Required: Mouse
Keyboard
Speakers
Monitor
OS (Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit
2x Seagate Barracuda 7200 500 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com / amazon.com
Country: United States
Parts Preferences: Intel & Shuttle
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050
Additional Comments: Small Form Factor Gaming Machine that doesn’t overheat!


Barebone Case: Shuttle Shuttle SZ68R5 Open Box: $234.99
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W $219.00
Ram: Corsair 16 GB (4x4GB) Vengeance Low Profile 1600mhz PC3-12800 240-pin $96.99
Video Card: EVGA 012-P3-2066-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 448 Cores FTW 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 $256.99
Hard Drive SSD: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $89.00

Total: $896.97

Some Questions/Concerns:

I'm carrying over two older 500gb Seagate Drives, 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200 500 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5 Should I ugrade to something better?

I heard the Mboard in the shuttle might not be that great for overclocking, if that's the case, should I just go with a Core-i5-2500?

I'm open to any suggestions on the video card.

Thanks for taking a look!

 

[JuanB]

The system seems good, don't get the 560ti, get the radeon 7850 as in the benchmarks it performs a bit better and alot cooler (assuming the small case doesn't have very good cooling), it also consumes less power (what PSU do you have?). It's also about the same price!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419

Don't get 16GB of ram, that's an overkill (unless you do alot of video editing and/or rendering). Get 8GB instead, when i'm gaming the largest amount i've ever used up is 6GB

As for the motherboard, i'm not sure, but stay with the 2500K for overclocking in the future. Also the drives are fine and so is the rest of your build. If you want to save some money you don't need to get an SSD, but it's up to you

 

[amjwh99]

The system seems good, don't get the 560ti, get the radeon 7850 as in the benchmarks it performs a bit better and alot cooler (assuming the small case doesn't have very good cooling), it also consumes less power (what PSU do you have?). It's also about the same price!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419

Don't get 16GB of ram, that's an overkill (unless you do alot of video editing and/or rendering). Get 8GB instead, when i'm gaming the largest amount i've ever used up is 6GB

As for the motherboard, i'm not sure, but stay with the 2500K for overclocking in the future. Also the drives are fine and so is the rest of your build. If you want to save some money you don't need to get an SSD, but it's up to you

Good idea. I'll just get the 8gigs and go with the Radeon. Thanks for the advice.

The barebones comes with a 500w PSU that shuttle throws in.

 

[JuanB]

That's perfect, the HD 7850 doesn't consume as much power as the 560 ti. You have nice a nice solid build there

 

[johnpaul182]

What brand is the Psu that comes with the barebones?

 

[amjwh99]

What brand is the Psu that comes with the barebones?

Its a Shuttle PSU.

Pretty sure this is it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856997008

 

[JuanB]

That's an ok PSU, it's 80 Plus Bronze and it has all the cables you need. Oh yeh, i notice that your monitor resolution is 1680x1050. If you're going to play in that resolution get the HD 6850 or 550 Ti unless you're planning on upgrading your display to a 1080p monitor.

 

[amjwh99]

That's an ok PSU, it's 80 Plus Bronze and it has all the cables you need. Oh yeh, i notice that your monitor resolution is 1680x1050. If you're going to play in that resolution get the HD 6850 or 550 Ti unless you're planning on upgrading your display to a 1080p monitor.

Since I'll prob end up going with only 8gb of ram, I might just be able to fit a new monitor into my budget. I'm thinking a 1080p 24inch.

 

[JuanB]

Since I'll prob end up going with only 8gb of ram, I might just be able to fit a new monitor into my budget. I'm thinking a 1080p 24inch.

Anything less than 23 inch and 1080p isnt really worth it (in my opinion), so yes a 24inch 1080p is really good. I have a 24inch 1080p monitor and it's awesome for gaming